When a person has anxiety of any type there is usually a fear of future events, what could happen and the worst possible scenario going over and over in their mind until, their worst fear even having a remote chance of happening leading to panic attacks and so stops them living their life.
The founder of BoM used to have anxiety disorder alongside his severe depression and the two , for many, often go hand in hand. In this blog post we share an inspirational video, give some suggestions on therapies that can help you and a strategy, from lived experience, that worked for an ex-anxiety sufferer.
In this blog post we share an inspirational video, give some suggestions on therapies that can help you and a strategy, from lived experience, that worked for an ex-anxiety sufferer.
https://youtu.be/7X-VDZaGkBU
Therapies that are known to help with anxiety
Please note : We are currently building a therapist directory (mostly UK-based this year but we will be looking to contact therapists from the rest of the world too in the future).
Hypnotherapy
Science explains that our minds are made up of both the conscious functioning mind, that helps u complete our day to day tasks and the subconscious mind where memories are stored. The conscious mind is like the face of the computer you are reading now, the desktop, all the programs and things you work with day to day and help you get to the computer program you need, whereas the subconscious mind is like your computer hard drive where EVERYTHING (yes EVERYTHING) you have ever experienced is stored and saved for you to help understand and perceive the world in which you live in.
A qualified and skilled hypnotherapist can delve into this unconscious part of our mind. Past memories and experiences are often the root cause of many problems to do with depression, addictions and of course, anxiety and why hypnotherapy can be a very effective treatment for those who are susceptible to the therapy. They can go back to any time in your past, something you may have completely forgotten about or put deep to the back of your mind and deal with the memory in a different way to reduce the anxiety you feel about that situation and that is affecting your day to day life.
Once under hypnosis the client can go back to any time in their past, something they may have completely forgotten about or put deep to the back of their mind to help deal with that memory, whilst under hypnosis the hypnotist can transform the memory and the emotion connected with it to reduce the anxiety you feel about that situation and that is affecting your day to day life.
Hypnotherapy was the therapy that worked best for the founder’s anxiety and he no longer feels the levels of anxiety he once did. Also, do not believe that you are out of control when in a hypnotic state, it isn’t true, you are completely in control and can wake up from your trance at any point and cannot be made to do anything you don’t want to.
Exposure therapy
Exposure Therapy has been shown to be the most effective anxiety treatment for people with many anxiety disorders. You might already know that it involves practicing with what you fear, in order to become less afraid. But how does it work?
Exposure Therapy helps you retrain your brain. It’s not just about “getting used to” the fear. It’s about retraining your brain to stop sending the fear signal when there isn’t any danger.
Similarly to hypnotherapy, exposure therapy attempts to retrain the brain into thinking differently about a fear or phobia by exposing the person to their perceived problem in a controlled and worked environment.
I, the founder of BoM, used this technique, without guidance from a therapist (although it is a matter of preference).
I wrote down the numbers 1 to 10 in a list and beside them, my worst fears and phobias, 1 being the most terrifying thing that could possibly happen due to my anxiety and 10 being the least scary.
I then slowly started to work up the list, challenging each perception by putting myself into those situations that caused some distress and anxiety.
In theory, the more you attempt to expose yourself to this list, the more the fear has less control over you. It is exhausting to keep doing this as it takes a lot of energy and adrenaline to confront your fears but it is entirely possible, particularly with a little support at first, in going into difficult situations.
CBT Therapy
A similar therapy to exposure therapy is CBT or cognitive behaviour therapy, as it is also known , works in similar ways to exposure therapy only CBT doesn’t aim to reprogram the brain but rather, deal with your own thoughts and thinking in new ways. The NHS says
CBT cannot remove your problems, but it can help you deal with them in a more positive way. It is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.
This therapy is often prescribed by GPs (in the UK) to those suffering severe depression and anxiety alongside antidepressants.
Fear…Anxiety. Does it ever go away?
You may not like this answer and I know you want me to say yes but the emotion of…fear…
it stays with you for life. But that is GOOD news!
Fear , although an uncomfortable feeling that none of us want is actually an important survival skill and can help us strive for greater things we have had since the dawn of man to help us avoid danger and the possibility of dying prematurely. It would in the past help us from being attacked by a saber-tooth tiger by avoiding a certain area whereas now if you have experienced something that either caused trauma or a deep difficulty holds us back.
Our fears have become much less rational and instead things like becoming fearful of others opinions, being made fun of, making a fool of yourself, not achieving our goals, not fitting in, not achieving ultimate wealth, not reaching the peak of our careers, whatever it is, fear is within us but fear is ‘our friend’ not our enemy.
Crazy as it sounds when you start to confront your fears you realise it is there to give you a little ‘adrenaline’ boost to help you able to push yourself through your own perceived and self-created boundaries.
Fear never leaves us and thank god it doesn’t!
When you master your fears and anxiety and understand your feelings that come with anxiety you will be able to live a more fulfilling and fruitful life.
Mastering of fear IS COMPLETELY POSSIBLE WITH THE RIGHT HELP AND SUPPORT to give you the tools and direction to do so.
Fear never leaves us and thank god it doesn’t!
Instead, when you master your fears and anxiety you will be able to live a more fulfilling life and never again will anxiety be able to take control of your life to such an extent as it did before. The mastering of fear IS COMPLETELY POSSIBLE WITH PATIENCE, TIME AND THE RIGHT HELP AND SUPPORT.
Is Anxiety ruling your life ? Don’t let it!
Don’t let anxiety and past difficulties control your mind, seek help from a professional therapist. Challenge yourself to be in uncomfortable situations on occasions (when possible) but don’t be hard on yourself if a challenge you attempt is too hard at that point in time, try again tomorrow. Never forget, there is always another day and another moment to try again.